Each issue, Kennedy Consulting Research &
Advisory (KCRA) offers a take on the current
state of the consulting profession

2012 in Review, and a Look Ahead By Erick BurchfieldLooking back, several market forces pro-pelled global consulting demand, caus-ing firms and clients to undertake largerand more ambitious engagements thanin recent years. The rapidly changingnature of client needs and the continuedevolution of provider capabilities con-verged around some key themes:

DIGITAL STRATEGY & TRANSFORMATION: Many
clients, particularly in the publishing, telecommunications, and entertainment industries,
are compelled to develop new digital business
models to adjust to changing end-user
consumption patterns. Consultants responded
to this imperative with significant investments: Deloitte and PwC acquired firms specializing in digital business, using these
acquisitions as a platform to launch new services. Several firms, including Booz and Co.,
Deloitte, and Capgemini, have launched dedicated Digital practices to bolster their credibility in this fast-growing consulting space.

Erick Burchfield is
Managing Director,
Research for Kennedy
Consulting Research
& Advisory (KCRA).
He can be reached
at eburchfield@
kennedyinfo.com.
For more information
on KCRA, visit
www.kennedyinfo.com.

“DISRUPTIVE” IT: Some clients remain bewildered by the abundance of new IT tools,
such as cloud-based IT management and analytics, coupled with the fast-changing behavior of consumers increasingly using mobile
devices and social media to make buying
decisions and communicate brand perceptions. While the volume of customer data
available to companies has increased, most
clients still struggle to gain competitive advantage from that data, notwithstanding the maturation of technologies and tools to deliver
“customer insight.” Aligning technology
investment with business goals from a cost
management and business intelligence perspective remains a challenge for many clients.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Perhaps most of all,
2012 was characterized by clients’ demand
for “implementation” and “execution”—not
merely advice. The confluence of issues confronting clients led to an uptick in “
Transformation” projects with a goal of fundamental
business model reinvention, including risk
resilience, productivity improvement, cost
reduction, and revenue growth. Both consultants and clients recognize that achieving such
transcendent objectives is possible only when
marshaled by a strong change management
process, leading to a re-emergence of the discipline as a critical consulting competency.

•So what’s to come? Each year brings a newset of client challenges and correspondingservice provider imperatives. We are siftingthrough the “next big things” that could alterthe future consulting landscape, includingenvironmentally and socially-responsiblebusiness, natural resource scarcity (e.g.,water), the shift in innovation migration fromemerging markets to developed markets, andthe continued war for talent—both forproviders and clients.

But as fun as it is to look into a crystal ball,
our years covering the profession have taught
us that one thing is certain: Consulting will
continue to change, and the profession will
inevitably surprise us. You can count on that.